1903 W. Michigan AvenueSurprises aren’t always bad.
I had some free time on my lunch break so I decided to head over to WMU and get lunch. Last year, they had a really good taco place and I was kind of in the mood for tacos. I haven’t been back to the Bernhard Center this school year so I had no idea if they were still there or not. Turns out, they’re not.
Even if they weren’t there, I figured I’d grab something from Santorini Island Grill. They had been there for quite a few years so I was really shocked when they were gone as well.
I wasn’t totally out of luck there. There was a new place and they have food that I will eat, so just by sheer accident, I found a new restaurant today.
K-Zoo Coney is on the lower level of the Bernhard Center on Western Michigan University’s campus. If you’re unfamiliar with the buildings on campus, it’s the corner of Michigan Avenue and Archer drive. You can get to the lower level food court through the main entrance but there is also an entrance to the Bronco Mall on the east side of the building.
The restaurant is in the space that was Santorini’s Island Grill. There is space for two mall food court type businesses. K-Zoo Coney only takes up one leaving the other empty for the time being.
The menu hangs over the prep counter on three TV screens. You’re not going to be too surprised if you’ve ever eaten at a Coney Island. They have the typical hot dogs, burgers, fries, chicken, pitas, and salads.
As much as I dislike hot dogs, I still really enjoy coney’s so I passed on the burger for the time being and ordered the Coney Meal. This got me an order of fries and a small Pepsi for just a little over six bucks.
It took about five minutes for the lone employee to put my order together. She was waiting on fries or else it probably would have went quicker. I grabbed the box and headed to a table right next to the order area. There is also a larger dining room that was being used as a quit study space for several students as I was eating lunch.
The started in on the hot dog and it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a Coney. The hot dog was stuffed into a small, soft, white bread bun and topped with a thin Coney sauce that came out of a warming pot. It was topped with yellow mustard. I asked to leave the onions off. The dog was good. It’s not a “blow your face off” Coney but it’s a solid one to grab in between classes or while studying in Bernhard.
There was a little extra Coney sauce hanging around in the paper boat the dog was served in and that worked great for the fries. The heavily seasoned fries were a little limp but they actually hung on to the left over Coney sauce. The fries were covered in a seasoning salt that made them a little too salty to eat on their own. The sauce cut down some on that saltiness.
I was not expecting K-Zoo Coney when I walked in to the Bernhard Center but I’m not disappointed it’s what I found when I got there. Coney Island shops like this are quite common on the east side of the state so it’s a nice little taste of home for the students from the other side. For the rest of us, it’s quick, cheap, and tasty.